The countdown to Christmas has started and we’re all starting to come up with present ideas for family and friends.
A good book is always a great gift, so we’re looking at the year’s most popular to give you a few ideas.
Instead of simple bestsellers, we’re looking at the novels that have proved most popular with members of the online book community of Goodreads.
When a Goodreads member has red a book they are invited to add it to their virtual ‘bookshelf’ and provide a rating and review for fellow bookworms.
So, here are the 10 books in 2024 that have been ’shelved’ the most - some over a million times.
5. Freida McFadden: The Teacher
Completing the top five most popular books of 2024 is 'The Teacher' by American author and doctor Freida McFadden. "Eve has a good life. She wakes up each day, kisses her husband Nate, and heads off to teach math at the local high school. All is as it should be. Except… Last year, Caseham High was rocked by a scandal involving a student-teacher affair, with one student, Addie, at its center. But Eve knows there is far more to these ugly rumors than meets the eye. Addie can’t be trusted. She lies. She hurts people. She destroys lives. At least, that’s what everyone says. But nobody knows the real Addie. Nobody knows the secrets that could destroy her. And Addie will do anything to keep it quiet…" | Contributed
6. Sarah J. Maas: House of Flame and Shadow
The third of Sarah J. Maas' hugely popular 'Crescent City' series is in sixth place. 'House of Flame and Shadow' is another slice of sexy fantasy which has been shelved 746,000 times this year. "Bryce Quinlan is stranded in a strange new world. She's going to need all her wits about her to get home again and return to everything she loves. But that's no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust. Meanwhile, Hunt Athalar is back in the Asteri's dungeons. Stripped of his freedom and the happiness he'd fought so hard for, he's without a clue as to Bryce's fate. Hunt is desperate to help his mate, but until he can escape the Asteri's chains, his hands are quite literally tied." | Contributed
7. Ali Hazelwood: Bride
Ali Hazelwood's supernatural romance 'Bride' is seventh, with 717,000 shelvings. "Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again. Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was. Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf." | Contributed
8. Freida McFadden: The Housemaid Is Watching
Yet another third volume in a series of books comes in eighth, with 581,000 shelvings for the lastest in Freida McFadden's 'The Housemaid's novels. "I used to clean other people's houses―now, I can't believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve. Even still, I'm wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell. When she invites us over for dinner it's our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it's like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills… The Lowells' maid isn't the only strange thing on our street. I'm sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors." | Contributed